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Isaiah Livers, Juwan Howard address verbal confrontation during Oakland game
By Paul Harvey
Published:
Michigan struggled for much of the game against Oakland, and it led to some frustrations in the first half.
During Sunday’s game against the Golden Grizzlies, Juwan Howard’s squad trailed at the break. To their credit, it was a gutsy and hard-fought effort by Oakland with Michigan needing overtime to put the game away.
In the first half of play, Howard could be seen in a verbal spat with senior forward Isaiah Livers. The two were visibly frustrated as the Wolverines struggled to find traction.
Fortunately, Michigan woke up in the second half and overtime and went on to notch a 10-point win. Freshman Hunter Dickinson proved to be a key contributor off the bench with 19 points.
After the game, Livers and Howard both addressed the heated conversation. Livers downplayed the scene, saying that’s how he and Howard communicate and that he understands his head coach is just trying to get the best out of him:
Isaiah Livers on exchanging words with Juwan Howard: "Weirdly enough, that's how we communicate. We argue during practice, we go at it during games. … I know he just wants me to be a great basketball player."
— Daniel Dash (@DanielDash_) November 30, 2020
Isaiah Livers on confrontation with Juwan Howard: "He was just holding me accountable. That's how we communicate. He just wants to be a great player and I respect him from that. I know he trusts me."
— Maize n Brew (@MaizenBrew) November 30, 2020
Howard would only say that the conversation would stay between Livers and himself:
Juwan says his argument with Livers is "between Isaiah and I"
— Theo Mackie (@theo_mackie) November 30, 2020
Livers is a senior leader for the Wolverines and still poured in a game-high 22 points. The frustrations in the first half were obvious, and it sounds like this is just a minor bump in the road for the forward and his head coach.
Paul is a lifelong fan and student of all things college football. He has been covering college football since 2017 and the B1G since 2018.